Gendered Aspects of Political Persuasion in Campaigns

Abstract

Political science research on gender, candidacy, and campaigning provides multiple points of access and insights into three axes of persuasion: persuading voters that candidates meet prevailing expectations of candidacy; persuading voters to rethink expectations of candidacy; and persuading political practitioners to consider their roles in re-gendering political campaigns. This chapter reviews existing scholarship as it relates to these types of persuasion within the gendered institutions of political campaigns, revealing both valuable and complementary insights as well as variation and gaps in existing literature. Among these gaps is the dearth of intersectional research that adequately addresses the interplay of race and gender in both voter evaluation and electoral strategy. Here, efforts to better address the simultaneous function of gender and party are instructive, both cautioning against monolithic claims about women or men and addressing gender as one among many influential dynamics in political campaigns and campaigning.